In November 2001, when Julia Child left her Massachusetts home of forty-two
years to return to her native California, she gave her kitchen to the
Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Behring Center.

Child's late husband, Paul, designed the kitchen for her in 1961, and
there she cooked for herself, for family and friends, for professional
colleagues -- and for the entire country. For seven years the kitchen
was a set for three enormously popular public-television series. Millions
of Americans watched the shows and felt they had cooked, eaten, and
laughed there with an old friend.

The kitchen is also a setting for the work of a culinary expert. Here
Child gave lessons, tested recipes for her cookbooks, and cooked with
and for colleagues. The kitchen and its three pantries held tools and
utensils that only professionals (and devoted amateurs) use. But ultimately,
it was a place for family. Along with the professional equipment we
find her favorite gadgets -- the small, simple, familiar objects of
daily use at American family meals.

With this kitchen, the Museum has acquired an "object" that
perfectly represents Julia Child's extraordinary influence on the way
Americans think about their food and its history.

Note: Bon Appétit!, an exhibition
featuring the reconstructed kitchen, opened on August 19, 2002. Visit
the companion site Bon Appétit!
Julia Child's Kitchen
at the Smithsonian to take an interactive tour of the kitchen,
view a sampling of kitchen implements, and hear more stories about Julia.